Should ION DISRUPTORS be rebalanced?

[God-Demis]

Hello everyone,

This Topic is about Ions.I think they should be rebalanced.Look at the facts.The Ion has a range of 0,9Km,fires 127 rounds/min and makes shield damage 1.575/round,thats equals to 193.675 dmg/min.Come on,seriously even the Alpha PAC makes 240.660 firing 382rounds/min each delivering 630 shield dmg,and its not that you will miss a lot with APAC.Not to mention that it has a range of 1,8Km.With fighting extension MarkII almost all my shot land on the enemy.

Is the only reason worth having an ION for missile defence really worth it?

Please write down your opinion.

[apricotslice]

Are you talking about Ions or Mass drivers because it sounds like the latter to me.

Ion shoots what looks like electricity.

[God-Demis]

nonono i am talking about the ions.although its a beam,it still has a rate of fire,only that it has very fast projectiles.

[NovusBogus]

IMO Ion D's are fine for their purpose and range. Even with autoaim at less than 900 meters both you and the target will be missing each other a lot with regular guns because youre both dodging/strafing/etc, but the D has such a massive area of effect youre almost guaranteed to hit him. Plus they take down shields very fast, unlike guns like HEPT which get the job done but arent specatcular.

The ship in the game I have the most problems taking down are pirate M3s with D's (I usually have to resort to missles).

[targetdrone]

IMO Ion D's are fine for their purpose and range. Even with autoaim at less than 900 meters both you and the target will be missing each other a lot with regular guns because youre both dodging/strafing/etc, but the D has such a massive area of effect youre almost guaranteed to hit him. Plus they take down shields very fast, unlike guns like HEPT which get the job done but arent specatcular.

The ship in the game I have the most problems taking down are pirate M3s with D's (I usually have to resort to missles).

when im not driving around an M2 , but are sitting in anything puny like an m3-m5, i get nightmares about pirate novas sportind IonDs and aft HEPTs....
also high on my hate list are pirate falcons (? i belive it was them) firing both PSG and Ion at me... that is an ugly combo for sure, but at least you can get on their rear side

[God-Demis]

What I want to say is that the ID does less dmg than APAC or bigger,plus the other weapons make hull dmg too.So why should i put an ID or 2,and put APAC to deliver more dmg.As for the missing while dodging,with Fighting software MKII u dont miss that much.Oh, and dont forget that u cant use ID is crowded places unless u want every ship turning red.I just think that the shield dmg isnt enough.Hey,it is supposed to be a shield buster , right?It should be able to take down 125MW shields in 20-30seconds,not a whole minute.(My opinion,maybe not balanced)

[jlehtone]

Since you have the numbers ... Which uses more laser energy, PAC or IonD?

[Cucumber King]

I'm guessing it's IonD's, by far!

I'll try to outfit my centaur with 8 IonD's at the front now and see what happens ( I hope they can mount them ).

[apricotslice]

I'm guessing it's IonD's, by far!

I'll try to outfit my centaur with 8 IonD's at the front now and see what happens ( I hope they can mount them ).

Yes they can , but why would you want 8 ?

[God-Demis]

I cant find the energy consumption at the time but i thin that APAC drains a little bit more energy than ID.Anyway IMO ID were more balanced in X2 the threat,I dont know why.
So, u think that ID should remain the same?

[apricotslice]

Anyway IMO ID were more balanced in X2 the threat,I dont know why.

In X2, the ion hit further, hit more ships in one go and took most sheilds down in seconds. In X3, it hits less, doesnt get as far away and it takes multiple goes to get a M3's shields down.

Actually, I'd say its balanced quite nicely. It was actually too powerful in X2.

[God-Demis]

Yes indeed it was powerful in X2 but it is supposed to be a unique weapon, a shield killer.Now that it has been reduced I dont find any actual use for it besides missile protection.Dont forget that if u drain an enemy's shield with ID if the pilot ejects u will have a ship with no equipment.IDs destroy everything.A ship is worth FAR more with its weapons on,especially if u find HEPTs or PSGs.(Dont forget about Khaak with Kyons)

[apricotslice]

I gave up on using it in X2 for that exact line of reasoning.

If you need it to get shields down, you need a rethink on your gun loadout.

I find 4 ahepts gets shields down in 2 hits. And does damage. (thats M3's)

[God-Demis]

My point of View exactly.Other weapons meke more shield dmg than a shield buster.I find that unfair.

[targetdrone]

well.. actually the ionD isnt only a shield buster, but it also is capable of destroying installed components without damaging the hull (whether this is a desireable effect or not is another question )

so, you get a nice shield buster, alongside with a way to lower the value of the ship youre about to capture... what else could you want?

[God-Demis]

The fact that it destroyes everything on your ship should be the reason that the dmg done should be raised.Or the range, you choose.
I dont think that it is a nice shield buster,I think it is a mediocre shield buster that costs a lot and takes much cargo.I feel that...its not worth it.

[NovusBogus]

so, you get a nice shield buster, alongside with a way to lower the value of the ship youre about to capture... what else could you want?

Actually I find this a huge advantage, as at least it allows enough time for a capture...what can I say, I have an itchy trigger finger.

[targetdrone]

no.. it is a good shield buster.. what you forget in your equation is the fact that the ionD will spark over to additional targets, draining there hsields as well... and, in one go also protect you from the first hail of missiles while charging head on... in my opinion, this gun should be graded down instead of up actually...

[God-Demis]

The fact that it sparks additional targets can be good or bad.It is good to hit multiple enemies but very bad when u hit an enemy and it sparks to friendly targets.All I am saying is that it should have its damage raised a bit.Me thinks about +30% should do the trick.

[targetdrone]

well.. the primary problem there, you still will hit friendlies, but now they will go red sooner... it will become an overkill weapon you cannot use most of the time due to friendly fire.... but then, the (npc) pirates dont have this problem... putting the player on even a bigger disadvantage when facing enemies sporting ionDs.....